Giant-killing mission
LABOR has backed a family man from Mount Isa to take on the role of political giantkiller and finally wrest the seat of Kennedy from Bob Katter’s grip.
Jason Brandon is a husband, a father of one with another on the way, a health and safety worker in the mines and a self-professed fighter who is ready to get his hands dirty.
The first-time candidate was in Cairns on Friday to announce his candidacy alongside Senator Nita Green and Labor candidate for Leichhardt Elida Faith.
The church and Mount Isa Agricultural Show Society volunteer said he respected Bob Katter’s longevity but change was overdue.
“One thing I’ve got is energy,” he said.
“I’m passionate.
“I haven’t been doing the job for 30-odd years.
“It’s new for me and I want to fight.”
Mr Brandon’s wife is due to have their second child within a month.
The smart money is on the federal election to be called
after Australia Day for February or March – but any number of factors will play into Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s eventual date decision.
Either way, Mr Brandon was ready to juggle nappies and late nights with mad dashes across the 567,000sq km electorate to
get Labor across the line.
In fact, he said his family life had given him keen insight into some of the biggest issues facing constituents.
“Unfortunately, I’ve had to take my daughter to the hospital three times in the last couple of months because I haven’t been able to get her in
to see a GP,” he said.
“This is a massive issue we’ve got in the seat of Kennedy, where we’re actually the last in Queensland for the number of GPs for the region.”
Mr Brandon said his campaign would focus on Labor’s policies and what he could
bring to federal parliament, rather than Katter’s Australian Party’s own platforms.
“I’m not going to go too much into his policies, because they are pretty wild; what I need to do is talk about what’s actually relevant to people I talk to around the electorate,” he said.